Barbecue Feasts: Boxed Up And Ready To Grill
Barbecue Season gets fired up by UK BBQ Week (4th-12th July). Cooking and dining al fresco is a great way to enjoy a Staycation and entertain family and friends (while following social distancing guidelines).
Key is a good barbecue (check out SOCAL’s BBQ Barn) and using quality meat for the very best flavour. Local butchers and farm shops are currently offering some really delicious and great value BBQ boxes. Just a few suggestions include:
Bere Mill, Whitchurch, have a whole section on their website dedicated to barbecue meats so you can pick and choose – these include classic big American-style burgers, Moroccan lamb kofta kebabs and their new Greek burger made with lamb, fresh feta and herbs that have been a great hit, just barbecue and serve in a pitta with spinach leaves. Their BBQ Box is especially selected by the butcher and includea an ssortment of burgers, kebabs, sausages, chops and steaks for £50.
Gambledown Farm’s (Sherfield English) BBQ Box is £36 and can be collected or delivered (on Fridays; delivery extra if over seven miles). Call to order. Contents include: pork sausages, steaks , beef burgers and homemade harissa or another BBQ type sauce like salsa verde or chimichurri depending on seasonal availability.
Hockey’s Farm Shop, North Gorley, New Forest, offers a 'Plenty for £20' box that’s ideal for the barbecue as it includes: eight sausages, four pork loin steaks, four beef burgers, two chicken breasts and two rump steaks.
Meon Valley Butchers (Wickham) have a Summer Sizzler BBQ Pack with 10 award-winning pork sausages; 10 homemade chicken kebabs; 10 homemade burgers and a rack of sticky maple baby back ribs - all for £35.
Owtons Butchers (shops in Andover and Bordon areas, Titchfield and West End) have a great value Barbecue Box for £31.95. It includes: five 170g pork rib eye steaks in Chinese glaze; six pork sausages (420g); six lamb & mint sausages (420g); four 170g beef burgers; four 170g pork & chorizo burgers; eight pieces boneless skinless chicken in BBQ Sauce (Min 800g); four 110g large kofta kebabs in mint glaze.
Stansted Park Farm, near Rowlands Castle, (pictured above) supply a BBQ box where contents vary, depending on availability, but may include two 220g sirloin steaks, two beef burgers, four lamb kebabs and two pork shoulder steaks for £25.95. They also have a great value steak box for £45, comprising aged local steaks such as two 280g sirloin steaks, two 200g rump steaks, two 175g fillet steaks, 500g diced beef steak and 500g steak mince.
The Farmers Butcher, Bramshaw, New Forest, has a series of Boxes starting from just £15 with a big barbecue meat box (priced at £55) containing: 10 beef burgers; 12 Cumberland sausages; four lamb kofta; rack of BBQ back ribs; four 170g beef steaks; four chicken fillets in garlic butter and eight chicken thighs in Chinese seasoning. All for £55.
Looking for sizzling sausages to barbecue? Don’t forget The Great Hampshire Sausage & Pie Award Winners! These included A Turner & Sons (Aldershot) CE Evans & Son (Alresford), Newylns Farm Shop (Odiham) and Solent Butchers (Portsmouth) among many others across the county, with Sole Butchers of Alresford as Supreme Champs. Check out the award holders HERE and throw some sausages on the grill.
Want to up your barbecue sklls? Uptons of Bassett are now running their popular Barbecue Masterclass Class on Wednesday evening, 9th September.